Colombo: Sri Lanka's ruling party on October 23 launched a fresh bid to regain its lost Parliamentary majority as a court ruling effectively removed the prospect of snap polls.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) was in talks with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to secure the support of the minority community party's 12 Members of Parliament.

A power struggle within the SLMC had threatened the stability of the UNP government, which has a slender two-seat majority in the 225-member Assembly.

Nine members of the SLMC had staged a boycott of Parliament, triggering a major crisis for the government, but following talks two SLMC members re-entered the Assembly on October 22.

"There will be more talks with the SLMC to help them sort out their internal differences and ensure that they do not affect the government as a whole," a senior ruling party member said.

The internal problems for the coalition government were compounded on October 22 with a Supreme Court ruling, which appeared to block the Prime Minister's bid to reduce the powers of President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

The government had earlier used the threat of a snap poll to win over the support of Opposition dissidents, but the Supreme Court ruling made any new election impractical, political sources said. The court ruled that the government must hold a nation-wide referendum if it wants to take away Kumaratunga's power to sack Parliament.